


The Factory

by Kaitiee



Category: A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-25
Updated: 2014-10-25
Packaged: 2018-02-22 12:51:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2508500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaitiee/pseuds/Kaitiee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Florence Uisa tells her grandson of the adventures she had with a child robot she had to babysit due to her job.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Factory

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry people who are looking for A.I. Fan fictions, this piece is only inspired by A.I and loosely in the same period of time.

Florence Uisa ( pronounced nor-sar ) was a thin, lovely woman of 80 years. She sat beside her 9 year old, dark haired, grandson who was quickly falling asleep on their lounge-room couch. There was a low hum from the television. Florence tapped him on the shoulder and he grumbled sleepily. In a calm voice florence spoke.

"Time for bed," 

" but I'm not ti-." 

" yes you are, come along. " 

The small, dark haired boy followed florence into his plain, small bedroom. He crawled into bed and under its covers. When he had settled comfortably into place he spoke in a quite voice. " Could you tell me the story of robot girl? " 

" Wouldn't you rather hear a story about princesses or dragons?" 

" No! They are boring and fake, I wanna hear your story. " 

Florence sighed as she pulled a chair beside his bed.  
" When I was young and just starting to live on my own I moved into the country and I got a job at a factory that was near my apartment. The factory was so close that you could see smoke coming out of the large chimneys. This factory was a little bit different than most, it was a place where robots lived, worked, built and were sent away to help those who deserved and needed help. They were robots of all different shapes, sizes and colours there. But the most amazing thing about that factory is that all the robots brains were made by one old lady." 

"Was she old like you?" 

"Ha, yes but she was a little bit older and a lot smarter than me. Her skin was as white as snow and had eyes as dark as before a storm. I respected and admired her. 

Anyway my job in this factory was to take care of one particular robot child. Her name was Ida. I was told she was different from the rest of the robots there. That she could grow and feel and live like human. She even looked exactly like a human child. Of course I didn't believe that, but who would? Most the robots there were only programmed to feel and say and think in particular ways. They only simulated human emotions. 

As part of my job I had to attended school with this child. The doctor said that Ida's signals slightly corrupted some of the radio devices on the school busses so we had to walk to school everyday. It wasn't a hard walk but it was long and our legs were tired by the time we got to school. Well mine were, I'm not sure if she ever felt tired. 

While the days went by, I noticed that Ida was growing and learning as if she was real. 'This child can't be real, she's a robot. It's just my imagination that she's growing.' I remember thinking.

Jo yawned. 

The school she went to didn't know she was a robot and I was to make sure nobody found out that she was. Everyone there believed she had some sort of disability and that's why she needed me around. 

Her creator was scared that her factory would be shut down. Her robots were made to help people. But people would say that making a robot that can grow and live and think and even feel like a human was dangerous and unethical. I never thought it was, well not until the day the doctor became sick. You see the doctor was so sick that it hurt for her to go to the factory everyday, so she decided to move into the factory so she could keep making robots and get better. 

Many months passed and the doctors sickness had become worse. One night when I was just about to put ida to sleep, She and I were called into the doctors room. 

"Ida, come here." The doctor said. Ida went and sat at the foot of her bed. 

"What's wrong, mother?" The robot girl said, I could tell that she seemed worried, well, if she could feel she would be worried.

" As you know, Ida, I'm sick. I don't think I will be around for much longer." 

" I don't understand? Are you leaving me? Where are you going? " 

" I'm sick, I'm old and I'm going to die. " 

" But I don't understand, why ? Where will you go? Can I come too? " 

" No. " 

" But you're going to leave me? I'm going to be alone. I don't want to be alone, please I don't understand."  
" shh. "

I could see tears coming from Ida's eyes as she began to screw up her face. Ida started to wail, then she suddenly stopped. 

In a shrill voice Ida said, " Mother, will I die? " 

"One day." 

"But I heard some girls talking at school, they said that robots can't die because they are not real. I'm a robot mama, I'm not real." 

" You're as real as any child there. You were the hardest robot I have ever made, it took my whole heart and soul to make you. A bit of my heart and a bit of my soul you had when you were activated for the first time. Don't you see child? You are made of metal and computer chips but are as human as any human. Do not let your humanity slip away from you because others say you are not human. You should go to bed now child, you have school tomorrow. " 

Ida nodded and said " Good night. " 

The old doctor smiled as I led Ida out of the door and into her room. 

I remember how much she cried silently in her room. I thought that if she really did have feelings, it was very cruel to let she suffer like this, to give a robot emotions. She must of been so scared and lost. I tried to calm her down but she wouldn't. I gave up in the end and went back to my little country apartment. 

I didn't sleep that night. I couldn't stop worrying about Ida and the doctor. 

The next day when I went to work, the doctor was still alive and Ida had stopped crying. I was told by the doctors assistant that when I had dropped Ida off at school I was to come back straight away. I dropped Ida off at school and explained to her that I was going to come back when school was over to pick her up and she was to wait at the front gate. She didn't seem too bothered about me leaving her alone. When I had arrived back into the factory, i was told by the doctors assistant to go to her, I did as she said and when I got there she quietly spoke.

" Florence, as you know, I'm going to die soon. When I die I want you to immediately leave the factory, take Ida and move somewhere nice. No need to worry about money, I've taken care of it." 

She didn't wait for a response, she just send me out of her room and I just mucked around until I picked up Ida and left her at the factory. 

The next day the doctor died. They said she died in her sleep. When I arrived at the factory, all the robot workers and human workers were shutting down and packing up the equipment at the factory. I found Ida quietly packing up her very few belongings. When I told her she would be living with me she nodded and I waited in the doorway for her to finish packing. 

That night I could hear her crying from the guest room. I thought it was strange that this little robot girl mourned the death of her creator. I thought It was strange that Ida could actually feel. 

A couple weeks later, when I had almost finished packing up my apartment and sorting buying out a new larger apartment near the beach I noticed that Ida was not in her normal spot in front of the television. I called for her. She didn't answer. I looked through the entire apartment. She wasn't there. I waited a few hours. She didn't appear. I decided to call the police, to file a missing person but after four months they stopped really looking. 

Seven years passed and they still had not found her. I had moved to the beach house and gotten married and my first child, your dad, was on his way. 

I had nothing to do today so I decided to drive back to my old apartment. The drive was long but it was worth it. When I arrived it felt like when you haven't listen to your favourite song for a year but then you suddenly decide to listen to it and you realise why it was your favourite song and regret not listening to it more often. My apartment had not changed much, it just looked refurnished. I rang the door bell of my old apartment but no one was home. 

When I turned to go back into my car, I could see smoke coming from the factory's chimneys."


End file.
